The Kindly Knights of Camelot
by KatieMacisNerdy
Summary: Arthur is stressed. And what does Arthur do when he's stressed? Take it out on everyone's favorite warlock of course! Luckily Merlin has friends to help him out...whether he wants them to or not! Contains kidnapping and an overly dramatic Gwaine


**The idea for this fic popped into my head a while back and I finally gave in and wrote it. It's my first Merlin fic, so be kind! It's a oneshot, but if you like it may I'll write more!**

To say that the past few weeks had been rough would be a horrible understatement. There had been fires out in the country, burning down villages, hurting people, and destroying crops. Luckily they had large stores of food saved but there was still the matter of finding the cause of the fires and helping the people affected. Arthur was in charge of most of this with Uther still being unable to reassume his duties since the Morgana incident. It was easy to see that Arthur was incredibly stressed. And what did Arthur do when he was stressed? Take it out on Merlin of course.

Now Merlin had his own issues and inner turmoil to deal with, but Arthur didn't know and didn't care. He piled on ridiculous amounts of chores to Merlin's already large workload and was constantly berating him. "Merlin, go muck out the stables" "Merlin, clean the boots of all the knights" "Merlin, who said you could stop for lunch?" Merlin didn't even have the energy to keep up with his usual banter with the prince. He would simply reply "Yes sire" and do his best to complete all the tasks. This surprised Merlin's friends among the knights and only seemed to infuriate Arthur more.

Finally, one month after the first fire, the cause was found. There was a man from one of the villages who had been scorned by a woman he thought he loved and decided that setting fires would solve all his problems. No one tried to understand his reasoning. They were all just happy that the fires would stop. And stop they did. Unfortunately the prince still had work to do. The past few weeks had taken a toll on him and it would take some time for him to unwind. With Arthur still feeling this way Merlin still had to deal with the extra chores. Merlin did not like a minute of this, but didn't want to say anything. What good would come from complaining? The only thing he would get would be more chores. So he kept silent. However, Merlin's plight did not go unnoticed.

Gwaine liked his new life in Camelot. He had new friends, he had some status, and, best of all, he now had enough money to actually pay for drinks, meaning he could go to the same tavern more than once. Oh yes, Gwaine was quite content. But he did not like seeing Merlin so tired and over worked all the time. Ya, ya, Arthur was stressed, but he didn't need to take it out on his servant/friend. Gwaine gave Merlin credit for everything he had. So of course he wanted to help him relax and have a bit of fun. But every time Gwaine tried to get Merlin to join him for a drink he would refuse and say "Sorry, I have to bring Arthur his dinner" or "As much fun as that sounds, I can't be hung over when I clean all of Arthur's armor tomorrow" all with that big, yet tired looking, grin on his face. Now Gwaine faced a dilemma; He wanted to get Merlin to loosen up, but he also liked to be dramatic (yes, it was Gwaine's greatest pleasure to make an event out of things). So how could he do both? He pondered this as he walked back towards the castle with his fellow knights. He looked at the men who he had become quite good friends with: Elyan, Percival, Lancelot, and Leon. They were friends with Merlin too…There! Sudden inspiration hit him. Gwaine had the most glorious idea, and he had just the people to help him with it

**Merlin POV**

Merlin walked as quickly as he could without spilling Arthur's food. He knew he wasn't going to be late, but with the way Arthur had been acting it was best to get there as soon as possible. Merlin sighed. He had hoped Arthur would lighten up after the fires had stopped and the victims had been helped, but that hope had been crushed. The prince was still frustrated and that meant more work for Merlin. Gwaine had been bugging Merlin about having some fun, but despite what Arthur always says, Merlin knows he has a duty to the prince.

Merlin reached Arthur's quarters and pushed the door open. He had been silently hoping the room would be empty, but no such luck. Arthur was pacing the room like a caged animal…a caged animal that had just set his sights on Merlin.

"Merlin! What took you so long? Do you want me to starve?"

"No sire. I brought the food as soon as the cooks were done preparing it"

This was true. There were still copious amounts of steam coming up from the large meal. Merlin could see it. Arthur could see it, but Arthur didn't care.

"Probably dilly dallying along the way. Can't you take your job seriously for once?"

Merlin said nothing, but the words stung. He set the platter on the table and asked "Do you need anything else sire?"

Arthur cringed at the word "sire" and shot Merlin a dirty look. "Why yes, Merlin, yes I do"

And then Arthur began spouting off a list of chores he seemed to be making up off the top of his head that had no end in sight. He turned away from Merlin, staring out the window as he spoke.

Merlin stood there, only half listening, not expecting to get any sleep that night. Or have time to eat. And he was certainly not expecting four hands to grab him by the arms and one to clamp firmly over his mouth and yank him so quickly out the door that he didn't even get to express his surprise. Whoever had grabbed him was pulling him away from Arthur's room and down the hall. He panicked for a moment and his magic started to rise up out of instinct, but as he was pulled down the corridor he saw Leon quickly slip into Arthur's room with a scroll in hand. Leon came out only a second later, looked at Merlin, and gave him a sly smile. This was enough to calm Merlin down a bit and he pushed the magic down. He heard Gwaine's voice from behind him say "So far, so good, my friends!"

**Arthur's POV**

Arthur was not happy. There really wasn't a reason for this. The arsonist had been caught and dealt with, the victims taken care of, and plans made for food distribution. If anything he should feel relieved. But he didn't, he was still stressed out and frustrated. Part of it was his father's condition. He didn't seem to be getting any better. Not worse, but not better. The rest…well he was just grumpy. Now what he needed was his favorite punching bag to return with his dinner.

He didn't have to wait long. Merlin came in with a large steaming platter only moments later, annoyingly on time. It made it harder to criticize, but that didn't mean Arthur wouldn't try.

"Merlin! What took you so long? Do you want me to starve?"

"No sire. I brought the food as soon as the cooks were done preparing it"

Well yes that was obvious enough, but he continued anyway.

"Probably dilly dallying along the way. Can't you take your job seriously for once?"

Arthur could see Merlin trying to stay passive, but he couldn't miss the flash of hurt on his face. Arthur knew what he was saying wasn't nice or even true at the moment. He just couldn't help taking his feelings out of those closest to him, and that, as much as he denied it, included Merlin.

He watched as Merlin placed the platter on the table and stood up. He couldn't help but feel a twinge at how tired the servant looked. He had large bags under his eyes. He even looked a bit thinner, if that was even possible. Merlin was the skinniest person Arthur knew.

"Do you need anything else sire?"

Arthur cringed at the word "sire", his musings over Merlin's appearance disappearing. He never minded it when others called him that, but it just sounded wrong coming from his manservant.

"Why yes, Merlin, yes I do"

Arthur actually had nothing else he really needed, but he started listing off anything he could possibly imagine for Merlin to do, making it up as he went along. He even turned and looked out the window to look for inspiration when he ran out of ideas. He could still hear Merlin behind him, breathing quietly and- did he just scuff his feet across the floor? If there was a mark then Arthur could add scrubbing the floor again to the list….was it quieter in here?

Arthur turned around to find an empty room. He looked around to see if maybe Merlin had just moved elsewhere in the Prince's chambers, but he was nowhere to be found. Did Merlin really just leave while he was being given instructions? Arthur began heading towards the door with full intentions of finding his manservant and giving him a piece of his mind, but he saw something lying next to his cooling platter of food. It was a small scroll, addressed to him. He opened it and it read:

_Prince Arthur,_

_We have kidnapped your poor, overworked manservant. I guess one might say "liberated" would be more accurate. We are taking him out for some actual fun, something you seem to have forgotten about. You cannot stop us; we are far too diabolical and brilliant. _

_If you ever want to see him again you will…just have to wait until morning, when he is returned safe and sound. He needs this._

_Our Very Best Regards,_

_The Kindly Knights of Camelot_

_PS One might even be as bold as to say you need some fun as well Sire._

The Kindly Knights of Camelot? Kindly Knights indeed! Arthur would bet all the gold in the treasury he knew who was behind this shenanigan. He could even guess as to whose idea the whole thing was. Oh when he found them he would… what would he do? He knew what he SHOULD do, which was to reclaim his servant and punish the knights with a month of mucking out the stables. But he thought of what the letter said. He had been overworking Merlin, and what about this notion that he himself needed a break? Arthur needed to think.

Normal POV

The knights dragged Merlin into a small unused room. They passed Gwaine, who was holding the door open with a huge grin on his face. Merlin just looked confused. The men came to a stop, but they didn't release their hold on the smaller man. Once Leon had come in and the door was shut Gwaine walked up to Merlin and said "You're probably wondering why we brought you here"

Merlin wanted to answer. He had a million questions. What was going on? Was this to mess with Arthur? How was he involved? He began to ask the first question, but whoever had a hold of his mouth (he thought it might be Lancelot) kept his hand firmly in place, so all that could be heard was a quiet "Mmph!"

Gwaine just smiled and continued. "Well Merlin, we, meaning Lancelot, Elyan, Percival, Leon, and myself, couldn't help but notice that you have been a bit overworked this past month. So, out of the goodness of our hearts, we have decided to treat you to a night of fun, just us and some beers and good times down at the tavern. Sound good?"

Lancelot's hand finally moved and what turned out to be Elyan and Percival's grips relaxed from his arms. He took a few steps away so he could see all of them. They certainly looked proud of their plan. They really are good friends, which made it even harder for Merlin to say, "Look, I really appreciate you looking out for me, but I can't slack off from my work. I would just get in trouble with Arthur, especially with the mood he had been in for the past few weeks. I should just go back." Merlin had looked at the floor for the last part. He looked up again expecting to see sad but understanding faces. However, his friends were all smiling, even the quiet Percival and the serious Leon. And they didn't look surprised either.

Gwaine let out a big laugh. He knew Merlin would say something like this. It didn't disappoint him, it only made this even more fun.

"Merlin, Merlin, Merlin, you act as if you really have a choice. We ARE going to the tavern and YOU are coming with us."

The knights moved quickly, Merlin was surrounded.

"Alright chaps, let's go have some fun!"

````1 hour later````

The knights and Merlin were sitting at a large table towards the back of The Nightingale Tavern. They were all laughing. Even Merlin managed to laugh a bit, though he was still blushing from the trip over from the castle. Percival had grabbed Merlin around the middle and actually carried him all the way here. Keeping up with their grand scheme façade, the men had taken little traveled roads, so few had actually seen them (the ones who did giggled once they saw that Merlin was in no danger. A few had even cheered the knights on. Gwaine LOVED it) but he couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

Merlin, for all intents and purposes, was still technically a hostage, so he had Percival sitting on one side of him and Gwaine on the other. Gwaine had his arm slung over Merlin's shoulders. The knights seemed to be enjoying this way too much.

"Should I be worried of how much you lot seem to be enjoying being kidnappers?"

The men laughed and Lancelot said "Not at all, my young friend. We are liberators, not kidnappers! We saved you from being worked to death!"

After Lancelot finished his little speech he shoved another tankard of mead into Merlin's hands and demanded he drink. Merlin could do nothing but shake his head, exasperated smile on his face, and obey.

The truth was Merlin actually was having fun, despite the rather interesting circumstances. His built up stress from the past month was melting away a bit. Or at least it was until he heard "So, I see the 'Kindly Knights of Camelot' are having a good time with my manservant."

They all froze in surprise. Merlin was at a loss for words. He braced himself for what he thought was the inevitable explosion from the prince, but instead he saw Gwaine recover from the shock and say to Arthur "Have you come to join us, Princess?"

Arthur gave Gwaine a glare, but then he sighed and suddenly the price didn't look all that fearsome, he just looked, well, tired.

"I might as well. By 'kidnapping' my servant you have sufficiently distracted me from my work. I guess I can afford to take a night off…and I suppose Merlin can as well, though neither he nor I seemed to have any choice in that matter" He gave the knights a meaningful look and sat down across from Merlin. Leon flagged a serving girl and got a tankard of mead for the prince.

Arthur looked at Merlin said "I guess I have been a bit hard on you lately, and for that I apologize. It shouldn't take you getting forcibly taken to a tavern for me to realize that"

Merlin was shocked at this apology "You have a lot on your plate Arthur, I'm not going to judge you for getting stressed out…"

He didn't really know what else to say. Apologies from Arthur were rare.

Luckily the prince just smiled and asked "And how does it feel to know you have friends willing to do something like with without your consent?"

Merlin looked around at his smiling friends and gave a big smile of his own.

"Very worried Sire"

Everyone in the tavern turned to look when they heard a monstrous laugh erupt from the back table. What they saw was the prince (smiling for the first time in weeks), his loyal manservant, and The Kindly Knights of Camelot. Making sure the silly name stuck was the **least** Arthur could do.


End file.
